NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 6 My Childhood

Abdul Kalam’s house was situated in Mosque Street in Rameswaram in state of Madras.

Dinamani was probably the name of a newspaper because. Abdul Kalam made an effort so that he could trace the stories of the Second World War, told by his brother-in-law, which made headlines in Dinamani.

Abdul Kalam had three close friends in school – Ramanandha Shastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. Ramanandha Shastry inherited priesthood from his father in Rameswaram temple; Aravindan had setup a business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims and Sivaprakasan was a catering contractor for the Southern Railways.

The Second World War led to the suspension of the train-halt at Rameswaram station. As a result of this the newspapers had to be tied up in bundles and thrown out from the moving train. This forced Kalam’s cousin Shamsuddin, a newspaper distributor in Rameswaram, to look for a helping hand to catch the bundles of newspaper. Abdul Kalam decided to act as helping hand and earned his first wages in the process.

Yes, he had earned some money in the process of helping his cousin. A sudden rise in demand for tamarind seeds could be seen in the market after Second World War broke out. He collected the seeds and sold them at a provision shop on Mosque Street. Usually he earned up to one anna from daily sales.

(i) Kalam’s father, Jainulabdeen didn’t have much formal education or much financial wealth. Despite these hurdle, he possessed qualities of great wisdom and a true generosity of spirit. He tried to avoid all inessential comforts and luxuries. However, all necessities were provided for, in terms of food, medicine or clothes.
(ii) Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma was a perfect support to her husband. She fed many people every day of her life. The author was quite sure that many more outsiders ate with them than all the members of their own family put together.
(iii) The author considers himself one amongst many children. He was a short boy with rather undisguised looks, born to tall and handsome parents. His childhood was very secure, both materially and emotionally.

The author inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.

Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram for further studies. He wanted to study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.

Kalam’s father said that he knew that to grow further, Kalam had to go away one day. He gave him the example of a seagull which flies across the sun alone and lives without a nest. He also gave an example of Khalil Gibran to Kalam’s mother saying that her children are not their own children. They were the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. The children come through their parents, but not from them. He was determined that children have their own thoughts and parent can give them love, but cannot impose their thoughts on them.

His words meant that children have to become independent, be separated from their parents at some stage of life. They need to be independent, to be set free at a point of their life. Then only they can understand the world, realize their thoughts, goals and dreams. He gave him the example of a seagull which flies alone and finds its own food and nest. Parents can give unconditional love to their children but they cannot give them their thoughts. The children have their own dreams, thoughts their thoughts. Kalam’s father spoke these words because Kalam’s mother was reluctant about him leaving Rameswaram.

Life in Rameswaram in the 1940s: In the 1940s the life in Rameshwaram seems to be in a dilapidated condition. Most of them have to follow a poor life for livelihood. The number of rich person were very low in society. The means of education were scanty. They worked hard in earning a small coin which used to be of great worth in those days. They belonged to orthodox views but there was no racial difference whatsoever. They were earning as low as it was not sufficient for daily life. People had co-operation among them and they were hopeful of having changes in their modes.